An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Twelve

   Tannix's mother was still Lady West Draulin, and she would be, Acen explained to me, until she either died or chose to step down. With Tandrin out of the way, Tannix had inherited the city immediately after his father's death. Even if he had a wife, Lady Clairia would have held her title. I didn't quite understand who had more power. Clairia had experience and age on her side, but she had married into the title whereas Tannix had been born into it.

She certainly seemed to have more power, when she announced that they would be holding a funeral for Lord Tandrael before discussing the war at length. Apparently, Tandrin and Queen Esmeranda had sent messages to King Deorun, and were waiting for some sort of reply. No further attacks had happened, so both kingdoms were just anxiously waiting to see what was next. Lady Clairia took the time for a funeral.

It wasn't nearly as grand as Lord Tandrael deserved. There wasn't time for a big parade through the city. Instead, his body was placed in the Teltish church. The people couldn't visit to pay their respects because it was too risky to let strangers into the fortress. The only visitors allowed were the nobles who had flocked to West Draulin as the news spread. Everyone who lived and worked within the fortress was given time off to visit the church, and they trickled in and out all morning.

I was in the church all morning, because Tannix was in the church all morning. He sat on a long bench, between his mother and Tairia. Sometimes, visitors would stop to talk to Tannix and his family. When Roland briefly visited Lady Clairia beckoned him to sit with them for a moment. A lady I recognized as Tannix's cousin, and a man who was probably her husband, also sat with them for some time.

I hovered nearby against the wall with Acen. The other knights rotated through during the day. Sometimes I found myself staring in Tannix's direction, wishing I could sit with him. Other times I looked around the church.

It really was a beautiful building. It was long and narrow, with very high arched ceilings that were painted. Colourful glass windows lined the highest parts of the walls. The images they created were hard to make out, but I saw some people, flowers, an ocean scene with ships, and what might have been a battleground. Under the windows, huge tapestries covered the walls with similar images. Long benches sat in rows the entire length of the church, all facing a raised dais. Lord Tandrael's coffin sat on the dais, flanked by elaborate candelabras. The wall behind the dais was decorated with a huge painting of a woman wearing a flowing white dress.

There were a few rooms leading off of the main hall, but since the Telts didn't have multiple gods and goddesses who would need their own alcoves, I wasn't sure what they were for. I had never been in a Teltish church before. There wasn't one like it in Zianna. The city was too old—there wasn't room to build a new enormous building. Instead, the Telts had taken over our old temple in the upper city, destroyed our statues, and put in their own paintings. But they hadn't changed the building itself, and so the Zianna church was nothing like this one.

So, alternating between admiring the church and watching Tannix, the morning slowly passed by.

In the afternoon, the actual ceremony took place. The benches were filled with nobles, guards and servants. I stayed on the wall next to Acen, who still hadn't taken a break.

The priest arrived and stepped up to the dais. When he started speaking, he barely seemed to be raising his voice, but everyone was so quiet he was easy to hear. I didn't understand the beginning of his speech, I didn't know enough about what Telts believed in.

"We gather with the blessing of the Goddess, who with her infinite power created this world and everything on it. We thank her for the wonder that is our lives."

He paused, and the crowd replied, "And she blesses us."

"We thank her for all the lives that have been lived, and the souls that now have a place in her Realm."